Trial Run a Huge Success!

(posted by Ange)

Okay...this is a bit of a long one, so make yourself comfortable.

As you know, we recently did a trial run of our Excellent European Road Trip Adventure. This adventure was on a somewhat smaller scale, but still proved to be quite excellent and adventurous.

We arrived at YVS just shortly after a breach in security. Unfortunately we missed all the action, but still had to wait in a very long line to get through security. Our carry-ons contained no lighters, matches, nail files, scissors, nail clippers, deodorant, water, contact solution, hair gel, Dr. Scholl's gel inserts, make up, cough syrup, non-labeled medication, nail polish, lipstick, Jello, hand lotion or any other prohibited objects, so we were able to breeze right through. I did have some liquid filled gum in my bag, but was able to slip that past them! (how secure are our airports really??!!)

Our first bit of excitement came when we heard West Jet calling our names, threatening to close the door if we did not show up IMMEDIATELY! Oooooo - scary! (As if we couldn't have just hopped on the next flight leaving an hour later.)

The flight was a long one - over an hour. We managed to remain civil this entire time. I believe the personal T.V.'s were a big part of this. Thank you WestJet for thinking of how these long cross-province flights in cramped quarters can affect relationships and for providing this comfort. You could add a few more channels though.

From the Edmonton airport we were whisked directly to St. Albert by private car service via Gary. A 10 minute drive from Edmonton, it is small town, yet easily accessible to the big city. According to its website, it has a rich arts and cultural scene. The town boasts the Musee Heritage Museum as well as 18 public art galleries. We thought this would be a perfect primer for Paris, Rome, etc!!!!! Here we would not only visit family, but immerse ourselves in the arts and culture of the town. Unfortunately neither my dad nor his wife Laurie had ever heard of St. Albert being this rich arts and cultural centre and so we saw none of this.

We were lucky to score free accommodation in an old age home, which we thought would be a very hostel-like experience. Not really. Maybe a very high class hostel which included free internet access, big screen T.V. for movie watching, pool table, library, hair salon, etc. I guess it was more like a hotel, minus the maid service and mint on the pillow. As I reported earlier, we were kicked out, through no fault of our own, at 10:00 p.m. one night due to a supposed "double booking". (We believe we were being discriminated against because we are from B.C.) So, yes...all of our belongings had been packed up and left outside our room for us to discover upon our return from a long day visiting Edmonton's famous Museum of Consumerism, the West Edmonton Mall. The stores, the activities, the call to spend money...it was definitely a must see and has prepared us for long days at the great museums in Europe, although we are skeptical they can come close to comparing to this spectacle!

Anyways...after being kicked out of our hostel (yes, it's back to hostel, or should I say Hostile), we hit Tim Horton's and then the road (this is an adventure!!) for an extremely long 2 hour drive through barren Alberta (simulation of driving through the small villages of France, minus the scenery) to the quaint village of Didsbury, where Dave's mom took us in. As we drove, we smiled at each other, knowing for sure we could fly by the seat of our pants given any obstacle and see it as an adventure and another good story to tell.

After 3 days in Didsbury it was time to hit another city. Off to Calgary for a night of preparing for all the wine we will be drinking in France and Italy. We managed to polish off 8 bottles with my cousin Craig and his wife Heidi and amazingly woke up hangover free. Good news for the longer drives we will face in Europe! I would feel bad if Dave had to drive for hours with a hangover while I sleep in the passenger seat. We made the long 3 hour journey back to St. Albert where Gary splurged on a hotel for us. We weren't going to stay in that hostile hostel again!

And there you have it...we made the long cross-province flight home, congratulating ourselves on being the most excellent traveling companions, assured that we will have no problem having a big adventure on a grander scale for 6 months on the other side of the world!